Gould believes in Bafana teammates

Judging from what’s been happening at training this week, Gould is likely to start the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Senegal at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday alongside SuperSport United teammate Clayton Daniels.

Cape Town City’s Thamsanqa Mkhize could start at right-back, with Bidvest Wits’ Sifiso Hlanti at left-back.

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Bafana, who are bottom of Group D on four points, cannot afford to get anything less than a victory on Friday, or Tuesday’s game against the same opponents would mean absolutely nothing.

"Whoever gets the call [to play] we believe he will give 200%, to show that we are serious about going into our next game with a positive result. We back one another and we show love to one another as players," said Gould, who has started Bafana’s last two qualifiers, showing that he still has a lot to offer the national team.

The 34-year-old stressed the importance of performing well against a group of Senegalese players who are familiar with the top leagues in Europe. It's important for Bafana not to give the Senegalese attackers too much room to cause problems.

"We are serious [about winning]. We came with a plan. The technical [team] is working very hard and we as players need to go out there and do the work and do what we need to do," the veteran defender said.

"We need to be aware of the fact that we are not coming up against minnows. We are coming up against seasoned professionals and Senegalese players who are doing well in their respective leagues in Europe. We need to give a good account of ourselves."

Senegal have kept themselves away from the limelight since arriving in South Africa. They are set to train at Peter Mokaba Stadium at 19h00 tonight, with star player Sadio Mane in their squad.

"We don’t know what’s going on in their camp. We are just focused on what we need to do. Whoever dons the jersey for their team will obviously give their best and it’s the same for us. We need to stick to what we want to do."